Another thread made me think about this, and rather than hijack, I thought I would start my own thread on this topic. How do you dress for therapy and why?

I typically wear jeans and my favorite boots to therapy, and some kind of a nice t-shirt or blouse or sweater. I used to wear jeans and a baggy t-shirt or sweatshirt, but as my depression lifted, I started wearing nicer shirts without really thinking about it.

I am a professional but self employed so can dress as I like on days I do not have court or am not meeting with a client. I have noticed that the times I have had court on therapy days and wore a suit to therapy, I felt much more constrained and it was really difficult to address my emotions. I worried about being able to "turn off" the emotions and get ready for court, so I just never really let my guard down on those days or got into anything significant. So, I started trying to schedule my court on non-therapy days, and if I couldn't, I would reschedule therapy. When that didn't always work, I decided to go ahead and wear jeans to therapy and just bring my suit to change into later. The act of changing helped me to compartmentalize my day and get the emotions back under control before I had to get ready for court.

So how about you guys? What do you wear? Maybe stopdog needs to start a poll since I don't know how to do that.

If I go straight from work, I'm in my teacher clothes; however, some days (actually many days) are casual/spirit days at work, so work clothes may very well be blue jeans and a t-shirt. If I have a chance to run home before my appointment or my appointment is on a school day off, I'm in jeans generally.

[mixedup_emotions]

I usually dress in business casual attire. One time, I didn't have time to change before a session and showed up in shorts and a t-shirt. I felt SO exposed and ugly. I ended up laying on the couch that session and not looking at T AT ALL.

I wonder if that means that I still struggle with letting my guard down. *sigh*

[tinyrabbit]

Interesting thread. I'm glad you started it. I'm self-employed and work from home - even if I need to see people for work it doesn't matter how I dress. My look is kind of offbeat hippie, I tend to wear a lot of dresses over jeans and colourful accessories.

The main things I've noticed are that I always cover up my body eg wearing a dress over jeans, long sleeves etc, I think there are psychological reasons for that. On the flipside, I don't wear make-up as I may cry it off so I feel quite exposed and maybe the way I dress is to compensate for that.

[stopdog]

If I am dressed like a lawyer, I usually act more like one.

[Freewilled]

It's a pain to change out of my work clothes, but sometimes I do. I have found I feel more like "myself" when I change. I put a facade on for work in more ways than one, so I think I feel more constricted when I'm business-y. It makes it harder to take off my mask, I guess.

I actually put a hoodie on over my work clothes once lol. I didn't have time to change but now that I'm thinking about it, it probably is significant. I wonder if my T thinks about these things?

I think I discussed this in my other thread, but I do have a constant fear of being "found out" as a fraud in my work life. So in court, in particular, I am very guarded and careful and exact. I am listening very carefully and answering very carefully in a way designed to reveal only what I intend to reveal. Not a particularly productive way (for me) to engage therapy. The clothing I wear in court is definitely part of my attorney "persona" and it is difficult for me to just turn that off while wearing suits.

Even with my kids, I change out of the suit as quickly as possible when I get home. It's just hard for me to engage emotionally while thinking like an attorney.

[mandazzle]

The way I dress is very eclectic to begin with so sometimes I will put effort and wear jeans and a nicer shirt. Other times I will show up in my pajamas and a hat.

I walk straight from therapy to work, so I wear work clothes - that is to say jeans, and a shirt/T-shirt/sweater depending on the weather. In fact, I pretty much always wear jeans, or sometimes on very hot days some kind of thinner long trousers. On days when I teach (I work at a university as a senior lecturer) I might not choose an overly weird T-shirt. However, when I have no teaching that day I sometimes pick a statement T-shirt appropriate for therapy, such as "Mad, bad, and dangerous to know" if that's how I feel on that day. I am fortunate enough never to have worked at a workplace that had any kind of dress code, since I have no dress sense or interest in clothing (except for interesting T-shirts, I must admit.)

[Samir66]

Interesting to hear other perspectives. I wear work clothes because I'm coming from work and I feel comfortable with that, but it's hiding in a sense. I dress appropriately for work, but I don't feel like my identity is tied up in what I wear - it's essentially a uniform and says nothing about me as a person. I'd feel shy dressing in casual clothes. Obviously I have some issues with letting people know me.

[anilam]

Yeah, I prefer to wear comfy things- jeans and hoodie- but that's mostly not possible. There were times when I had my XL hoodie stuffed in my bag just to be able to put in on before therapy- anything to make it less uncomfortable...

[pbutton]

I am 87% sure I am wearing the same shirt I wore to last week's session. Maybe I'll start wearing the same shirt every week and see if T asks me about it.

[anilam]

Originally Posted by stopdog

If I am dressed like a lawyer, I usually act more like one.

That's so true. If I'm in my work clothes I'm more like my public me- not the real, screwed-up me.

It depends... when I saw xT (man) I mostly wore work clothes but if I had times I wore jeans and I always freshened up my hair and makeup. with current T (female-which I am too) I mostly wear jeans but have occassionally not had time to change so its business casual but I don't often worry about what my hair and makeup look like. I find that so ironic because one of the reasons that I didn't want to see a woman to begin with was I didn't want to feel judged on my appearance...

so basically I do not dress for therapy... I wear what I have on at that time and if I have a choice its jeans or capri's now that its getting warm and a casual shirt.

[Asiablue]

Originally Posted by tinyrabbit

Interesting thread. I'm glad you started it. I'm self-employed and work from home - even if I need to see people for work it doesn't matter how I dress. My look is kind of offbeat hippie, I tend to wear a lot of dresses over jeans and colourful accessories.

The main things I've noticed are that I always cover up my body eg wearing a dress over jeans, long sleeves etc, I think there are psychological reasons for that. On the flipside, I don't wear make-up as I may cry it off so I feel quite exposed and maybe the way I dress is to compensate for that.

i wear pretty much the same as you... dresses over jeans, cardigans, ethnic print tops, trainers or ballerina pumps, etc. but i always wear make-up and i make sure it is waterproof lol

[herethennow]

casual.. but it depends on what i have to do after that. my T sessions are in the morning and i might have school or meet up with friends... i'll go with tshirt and jeans anytime~

[BlessedRhiannon]

As I said in the other thread - it depends on what I'm doing that day. If I'm working from home, I usually wear jeans, t-shirt (or sweatshirt in the winter) and sneakers or sandals. If I'm going in to the office that day, then I wear whatever I've worn in to the office. If it's just a normal day at the office, then I wear nice jeans, a nice shirt or sweater, and usually flats or dressy sandals. If I have to give a presentation or we have executives in the office, then I usually wear a suit. My T always chuckles when I show up in a suit and asks "presentation day?"

[BlessedRhiannon]

Originally Posted by stopdog

If I am dressed like a lawyer, I usually act more like one.

Yeah - If I show up to session in a suit, T knows that we need to spend some time on a mindfulness exercise because I'll be in a total business mindset and need a few moments to switch to therapy mindset. I also tend to slip right back in to my business persona the instant I walk out of her office, which makes it difficult to process a session.

[1stepatatime]

Because I am an early childhood educator I prefer to shower, change clothes before my session...I feel grungy after a long day of work...lol Typically, I will wear jeans, nice t shirt...tennis shoes, or slip on shoes, boots, whichever. Makeup IS a must for me...not a lot but something, just how I roll. Oh yeah... and my perfume, Angel.

[precious things]

Baggy Clothes for me. Maybe someday I will get the courage up to wear short sleeves.

[content30]

I’d say that 75% of the time I’m dressed business to business casual, as I go to see T straight from corporate America most times. Sometimes, I have a one to two hour buffer. Then, I’ll change into jeans and a shirt or comfy/workout type of clothes…I might even take my contacts out and put my glasses on. I did find that when I changed a few weeks ago and was very casually in yoga pants and a t-shirt that at first I felt a little bummy/sloppy, since my T always dresses business to business casual. I also felt a bit bad as in, “Poor, T, I got to go home and change and be all comfy, but poor T is still dressed to the nines!” Then, after a few minutes, I think I was a bit more relaxed and actually took my shoes off and put my feet up on the couch—something I never do. I felt a little more at home and relaxed, I think…. I don’t feel that I am any less or more guarded with my conversation depending on my attire, though.

Depends on the weather for me, Usually I wear Jeans, boots and a blouse, If it's warm I will go with a dress and a cardigan, I have never taken my coat or cardigan off yet in therapy because I have scarring and I am afraid of T seeing them.

[likelife]

I'm pretty much always in jeans. Add on a sweatshirt or sweater and sneakers or boots when it's cold and a fitted t-shirt and sandals when it's warm. I like to be comfortable in T. When I used to work a job where I had to dress up more, I also had a difficult time transitioning from "work" me to "therapy" me.

I used to feel really insecure about how I dress. I've stopped caring as much over the years. I very rarely wear makeup, in part because I never really learned how, and in part because I just don't care that much. The occasions when I do still feel insecure are when I compare myself with other parents at my kid's school. They tend to dress much more smartly than I do.

[WikidPissah]

I always go uber casual..jeans, converse, nice top and makeup (fully made up). I am self employed, but I try not to see clients on therapy days. I cannot put my "business face" down when I am in a suit. I always make sure to have my arms covered (scars) and I don't own shorts so my legs are covered as well. Sometimes in the summer I would be sweating so badly under my long sleeves.

[tooski]

I work from home most of the time, so I can dress any way I want. I wear to T the same that I wear for work, shopping, etc. I'm older, and I let myself go for about 15 years - got fat, got careless with hygiene, basically turned into a slob. I finally got my act together and lost weight and started taking care of myself. Now I dress "nice" all the time. I feel better about myself when I feel like I look good so there's the motivation. I don't care what other people think - I dress for myself, and I like to feel good about myself, at least on those occasions that I'm not filled with self-loathing. Almost always good quality pants (NYDJ), a nice top and usually a scarf (covers up the neck wrinkles, y'know .... ) Pretty basic - not fashionable or trendy. It expresses who I am.